MF Tower Block - THE END!

Some of you in N America will have visited the old Ferguson/MF plant at Banner Lane, Coventry, England or otherwise heard of it. It is where over half a million TE 20s were made followed by a long succession of MF tractor models. This was closed and all pulled down a few years ago but they left the "Tower Block" standing. This had been the HQ for eastern hemisphere operations for many years. This was a landmark building on Coventry's skyline. In the meantime they had built a whole new housing estate over the old factory site, some up to quite near the Tower Block.

For two months or so they have been pulling the guts out of the building till it was left standing just as a concrete framework. A very sad site for many ex employees - many of whom still live in the near vicinity.

Anyway, last Sunday was the end. It was detonated at 10.30 am and down it plummeted. A very skilful operation in which it was made to collapse on itself with very little lateral spread. Explosives had been placed at several levels. You can view it on the link:

I understand that there are others on youtube. Attached is a photo of it that we took about ten days before it was detonated. The charges are underneath the black polythene covers at the different heights.

RIP Banner Lane which was a wartime aero engine factory before it became the TE tractor production plant starting in 1946.

RE:MF Tower Block - THE END!

The only memory of Harry Ferguson and Massey Ferguson in Coventry now is in The Museum of Transport in the city. Attached are a few photographs of the agricultural display taken last year when we visited, a very interesting museum with plenty of interest for car and bicycle enthusiasts, I never realised so many manufacturers existed in that part of the country.